Today, the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) announced that it's list of "problem" banks had grown to 117 institutions, as of June 30, which is the highest number since 2003 and an increase of 30% since last quarter.  To read more about the most recent update, click here.

With the recent failure of IndyMac Bank and fears in the marketplace of potential other bank failures, it's worth a quick mention of how the FDIC Deposit Insurance program works.

Generally, deposits from a single depositor up to $100,000 are fully insured.  The limit is $100,000 per depositor, regardless of how many accounts were opened.  For instance, if an individual has $95,000 in CD's and $10,000 in checking, then $5,000 of the deposits would generally not be covered.

Any bank that participates in the FDIC program must display the FDIC logo at teller stations where deposits are accepted.

The FDIC does not insure money invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, annuities, or municipal securities, even if they were bought from an insured bank.  The FDIC also does not insure U.S.Treasury bills, bonds, or notes, but those are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.

Deposits with each FDIC-insured bank are insured separately from any deposits at another insured bank. If an insured bank has branch offices, the main office and all branch offices are considered
one insured bank - a depositor cannot increase insurance coverage by placing deposits at different branches of the same insured bank.  Similarly, deposits held with the Internet division of an insured bank are considered the same as deposits with the "brick and mortar" part of the bank, even if the Internet division uses a different name. If two banks are affiliated, such as having a common holding company, but are separately chartered (indicated by having two different FDIC Certificate numbers), deposits in each bank would be separately insured.

To read more details from the FDIC or to use an interactive tool from the FDIC that helps assess your potential risk, click here